Reviewer of Research Corporation: A foundation for advancement of science

Standing Committee Member of NIH Study Section

Standing committee member of NIH/NIDA Medication Development Research Subcommittee , 2007-2011

Journal Reviewer

Reviewer of Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Reviewer of Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

Reviewer of Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry.

Reviewer of Medicinal Chemistry Research

Reviewer of Current Medicinal Chemistry-Central Nervous System Agents

Reviewer, Australian Journal of Chemistry Reviewer, Drug and alcohol dependence

Reviewer, European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry

Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry

Tetrahedron

Biochemical Pharmacology

British Journal of Pharmacology

Archive der Pharmazie

Primary Research Interest

Our research integrates medicinal chemistry, neuropharmacology, computational chemistry and molecular biology not only to understand the mechanism of action of novel CNS active molecules but also to advance promising leads to preclinical studies. We focus on discovery of novel CNS drugs to explore their potential therapeutic application in several neuro-disorders like Parkinson’s disease (PD), depression and drug addiction. Specifically, novel molecules which are designed through rational drug design and computational studies, are being developed routinely to target monoamine transporters and receptors systems either selectively or non-selectively to produce desired pharmacological response. In PD research area we are focused on development of bi or polyfunctional molecules to produce disease modifying neuroprotective treatment agents. In this regard, we are designing multifunctional D2/D3 and D3 preferring agonists by incorporating metal chelation and anti-oxidant properties along with inhibitory activity against alpha-synuclein protein aggregation in these molecules to address complex pathogenesis of PD including oxidative stress. Our overall goal in this project is not only to address symptomatic (relieving motor dysfunction) factor of this disease but also to produce disease modifying neuroprotective effects to slow or stop the progression of the disease. In the depression area, we have developed novel triple uptake inhibitors as promising new generation antidepressants addressing anhedonia in MDD. One of our main thrust in our research is to develop multifunctional molecules as a novel approach to CNS drug discovery and development. Our research is supported by multiple NIH R01 grants.